homemade sauerkraut recipe

Evening eKa CIRCLE

Well this post has taken me a while to type up but I do trust divine timing. I was gifted some red and white cabbage many months ago and thought I would show just how easy it is to make homemade sauerkraut enjoyed by most eastern Europeans. The incredible added benefit of storing cabbage this way is the lactic acid bacteria from the cabbage ferments and aids your gut health immensely with natural probiotics that assist digestion, mental health and a healthy immune system. When natural foods like this are added regularly to your diet there should be no need for expensive probiotic supplements. Mother nature has it all on offer we just need to share the knowledge with each other to learn how to benefit.

 

I used two colours of cabbage for this recipe as that is what I was given you can use whatever cabbage you have on hand. Make sure, as for all preserved foods that the equipment you use are clean and sterile.

Try adding extra herbs, carrot or your favourite flavour to this recipe. Experiment with bay leaves, peppercorns, caraway seeds or dried chilli as a suggestion. I used fennel seeds this time as I am currently obsessed with that flavour. It’s in my drinking water everyday and I seriously cannot get enough. It is good to listen to your body it will tell you what you need if you tune in. This is also a simple recipe to double or triple and make a large batch to store or share.

Hope you enjoy. Let me know how yours turns out.

 

love & light

M + E

 

 

Sauerkraut Recipe

 

1 large fresh cabbage

1 tbsp celtic sea salt

2 tbsp fennel seeds

Wash the cabbage and remove the outer leaves. Save a few for packing your jars. Finely slice the cabbage and using your hands squeeze the salt into the cabbage, massage it well until the cabbage starts to release some liquid. Your sliced cabbage packed into your jars needs to be completely submerged in the brine you create. Pack the cabbage into clean sterilised jars and top to cover with the juice. If your cabbages are not quite as fresh you may need a little extra filtered water with a spoon of salt added. Top each jar with a clean outer leaf of the cabbage and weight down with some stones that have been sterilised. Seal the jar with a lid or if it is a large jar like the one in my pic I used a plate to cover.

Leave the sauerkraut in a dark spot to ferment for about a week. Refrigerate when the sauerkraut is ready.

This is a great side dish for meats, salads, cheese platters and sandwiches.